Device for regulating the pumping periods of wells



J. S. QUIGG Dec. 27, 1932.

DEVICE 'FOR REGULATING THE PUMPING PERIODS OF WELLS Filed Feb. 25, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l NN Hi lNVENTOR fmes'. Quigj ATTORNEY any.. i

J. S. QUIGG Dec. 27, 1932.

DEVICE FOR REGULATING THE PUMPING PERIODS OF WELLS Fileaiveb. z5, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 huw INVENTOR 6'. Qui j 4QF? J ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE Application ledFebruary 25, 1932. Serial No. 595,212.

rlhis invention relates to a device for regf Figure v is a fragmentary side view in ele- 'ulating the pumping periods of wells. vation. of the controlling device showing the At present oil wells are pumped at the rear face thereof, speed of the power plants so that when the Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side 5 well is pumped o or dry the operator must View of the' controlling device disclosing the 55 disconnect the well from the power plant and position of the parts j ust before the pumpis this requires the services of an operater when Connected to the power plant, and the well is pumped dry. Furthermore, when lFigure 7 is a transverse vertical section a pump is connected with the usual power 'taken along the line 7 7 of Figure 1. 0 plant the pumping action is continuous and Referring more particularly to the draw- 6o the well is pumped at tooV great a rate and ings, 10 designates a post having its base p0rfrequently at a greater speed than the retion secured in the ground in any approved turn of -flow of the oil into the well. manner. The upper end of the post is pro- An object of the invention is theprovision vided with a passage or bearing, as indicated of a device located between the power plant in dotted lines at 11, to receive a reciprocat and a pump for automatically cutting off the ing pumping rodl 12. The outer end 13 of pump for definite periods so that the well will this rod is connected in any approved manbe pumped at a slower rate and ata rate ner with the pump (not shown). The inner which will conform to the flow of the oil end of the rod 12, as shown at 14, is pivotally i 0 into the well. connected with a pair of plates 15 located at o A further object of the invention 'is the one side of the post 10. These plates at their provision of a device intercalated between inner ends are pivotally connected at 16 With the power plant and the pump for automat a latch bar 17 which is adapted to be periodiicallycutting od the pump at predetermined cally reciprocated as will be presently de,

periods so that it will not require the conscribed. 75 staiit attendance of an operator, particularly A pair of U-beams 20 are connected at 21 at the time that the well is pumped ot'f. to the post 10. The opposite ends of these This invention will be` best `understood beams which are parallel and spaced from from a consideration of the Jfollowing deeach other are. connected at 22 to a block 23. Y

tailed descri tion in view of the accom an This block may be secured in lace in an 80 P a D y P y ing drawings forming a part of the speciiicaapproved manner to the ground or floor of a tion; nevertheless, it is to be understood that building. The inner end of the block is 1oll'lVelll-loll lS IlOtCOl'lned t() tllQ dlSClOSUI'G, gated btvvaen a pair 0f endg of the beams being susceptible of such changes and modi- @Q 8,5 ications which shall define no material de A driving. rod Q5 is Supported by the block partum from the salient features of the. m' 23 and haslits :outer end 276 connected with a Vetlolascxpsf m the appended dalms' power plant (not shown). Collars 27 and Frmu lrswlse elevbton of a device 22 are secured toqthe driving rod 25 by means o l ci: 4 constructed in accordance with the principles Set Srwl mi )d dtlstane fbetween 90 of my invention, showing the pumping con- @Se CO at? U. elmms e .rave O a Cross necton in inoperative position, head 30 which is provided with a passage 31 Figure 2. is a plan view of the device shown through Whlch the drwmg to@ 25 passies' in Figui@ '17 The inner end of the driving rod is pro- Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged View vided with a yoke and this yoke has a, 95 of the device for regulating the pump per'ibldgmg Portlon 33 mt@ Whlch 1S Screwed ods, the inner end of the rod 25. rlhe yoke 321s Figure 4 is a side view in elevation of the bent upwardly, as shown at 32, 34, and is disdevice shown in Fig. 1 with the pump operposed in a plane parallel tothe top of the .100

'atively connected with the power plant, blocl: 23 so that the end 35 of the Vyoke is located above the horizontal plane passing through the rod 25.

in oscillating lever 36 is pivotally mounted at 37 on a bracket 38 secured to one of the beams 20, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2. A link 39 connects the upper end of the lever '36 with the upper end ot the cross head 30, so that as the cross head is reciprocated the lever will likewise be oscillated.

fr drum 40 is mounted tor rotation upon an axle 4l carried by a bracket 42 secured to one ot the biams 20. A second bracket 43 is secured to the other beam and provides a supporttor the axle 41. rllhe drum is provided with a segmental ratchet wheel 44 adjacent one of the beams 20. A second ratchet wheel 45 is connected to the opposite side ot' the drinn and is adjacent the bracket 42. The ratchet wheels 44 and 45 may be made separately and connected with the drum or may be made integrally with the drum. Since the drum is of less diameter than the ratchet wheels 44 and 45, there will be a space located between said ratchet Wheels upon which normally rests the inner end of the latch bar 17. A cam 4G is formed' on the drum 40 between the ratchet wheels for a purpose which will be presently explained. T he ratchet wheel 45 is provided with a plurality of spaced teeth 47 which are adapted to be engaged by a pawl 48 pivotally mounted at 49 on the oseillatine; lever 36. A master tooth 50` is provided at one end of the series of teeth 47. lt will be noted that the top of the bracket 42 is curved, as shown at 51, and this curved portion extends slightly above the teeth 47 but below the cuter end of the master tooth 50 so that the pawl 48 will ride upon the curved port-ion 51 oi the bracket 42 for a definite period oi the movement of the pawl 48.

The pawl 53 is pivotally mounted at 54 upon a standard 55 which is secured to that beam 2O which is located adjacent the ratchet wheel 44. The pawl 53 normally engages the teeth of the ratchet wheel 44 and maintains the drum and the ratchet wheels in a predetermined position until released as will be presently explained.

The ratchet wheel 44 is provided with a series of passages 58 adapted to receive a bolt 59 which will engage at times one of the beams 2O and retain the drum and ratchet wheels in a predetermined position.

The latch bar 17 is provided with a catch 60 which is adapted to receive the end 35 ot the yoke 32. The outer edge of the catch 60 is provided with a curved tace, as shown at 61, in order to facilitate the engagement of the yoke 32 with the catch 60.

The operation of my device is as follows: Referring more particularly to Figure 1. it will be seen that the catch 60 is located between the ratchet wheels 44 and 45 and resting upon the drum 40 while the outer end of the connecting plates 15 are engaging the inner face of the post 10. When the power plant has been connected with the driving rod 25, said rod will be reciprocated and the collars 27 and 28 will alternately engage the cross head 30, causing reciprocation of said cross head and likewise of the rod 39. The lever 36 will be oscillated and the pawl 48 will ride over the curved edge 51 of the bracket 42 until it passes beyond the higher point on the curved edge 51 when it will drop into engagement with a tooth 47 of the ratchet wheel 45. Movement of the lever 36 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 will cause the pawl 48 to rotate the ratchet wheel 45 and likewise the drum 40 and the ratchet wheel 44. The movement of the drum and the ratchet wheel will be a ,step by step method and the length of the curved edge 51 of the bracket 42 will provide tor an angular rotation of the drum and ratchet wheels which will be equal. to the angular' relation between two of the teeth 47 of the ratchet wheels 45. In other words, upon each movement of the lever 36 in a direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, pawl 48 will move the ratchet f wheel 45 through the space of one tooth. Since the pawl 53 is in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 44, said pawl will retain the drum and the ratchet wheels in the angular position through which they have been moved by the pawl 48.

Vhen the collar 27 engages the cross head 30 on the return stroke of the driving rod 25, the lever 36 will be moved in the direction opposite that indicated by the arrow in Figure 1. At this time, however, the pumping rod 12 and the latch bar 17 are idle so that at this time the pump is not forcing oil or other li uids from a well.

hen the ratchet wheels 44 and 45 and the 1 drum have been moved through a step by step position so that the master tooth 50 will be engaged by the pawl 48, the drum 40 and the ratchet wheels 44 and 45 will be moved through a greater angular distance since the tooth 50 extends above the curved edge 51 of the bracket 42 and therefore will be engaged by the pawl 48 at a point which will be in advance of the engagement of the pawl with the teeth 47 of the ratchet wheel 45. Just about the time, however. that the pawl 48 engages the tooth 5() of the ratchet wheel 45, as shown in F ig. 3, the cam 46 will engage the latch bar 17 and gradually elevate said latch bar until the catch 60 will be moved through the portion 34 of the yoke 32. It will be ap preciated, however, that the yoke at this time will be moved towards the drum 40 by the rod 25. When the rod 25 is moved outwardly on the return stroke it will pull the elevated latch bar 17 through the medium ot the end 35 ot the yoke 32 and the catch GO and thereby operate the pump rod 12, thus delivering a pumping stroke to the pump.

As the latch bar 17 moves in the direction ens el 'lil indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, a plate 65 which is secured to the latch bar 17 will move beneath the pawls 48 and 53 and thereby release the pawl 48 from its engagement with the master tooth 50 and the pawl 53 from its engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheei 44. 'Since the ratchet wheels and drum are free to move, and the cam member 46 acts as a counterbalance, the counterbalance will move downwardly and rotate the drum and the ratchet wheels to their normal position to be operated by the pawls 48 and 53 without causing operation of the latch bar 17 and the pumping rod 12.

The bolt 59 is placed in one ot the passages 5S in the ratchet wheel 44 so that as the ratchet wheels and the drums are moved by the weighted cam 46, this bolt will engage one of the beams 20, as shown in Fig. 5, and retain the drum and cam in an operative position. When the cam member 46 moves downwardly, after release of the ratchet wheel from the pawls, the latch bar 17 will be unsupported and it will move downwardly and rest upon the drum 40. The release of the latch 6() from the yoke 32 is also due in part to the fact that as the rod Q5 is moved upon its return stroke and the rod 12 is moved outwardly towards the pump, the hinging members 15 will likewise be moved in an opposite direction, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, and will engage the post 10, thereby limiting the outward movement of the latch bar 17. However, the driving rod 25 continues its movement beyond the catch 6() so that the catch will be released from the yoke.

When the latch bar 17 is being moved to the position shown in Fig. 1, the plate will release the pawls 48 and 53 and they will drop to their normal operative position with respect to the ratchet wheels 45 and 44.

It will be seen by this construction that the operation of the pump will be periodic. The duration of rest, however, is determined the position of the bolt 59 in the passages 58 so that it is possible to shorten or lengthen the time of inactivity of the pump.

The position ot' the collars 27 and 28 depends upon the annular movement of the J lever 36 and such positions may be readily determined during the operation of the device.

I claim:

1. A device for periodically controlling the .t pumping action of a pump comprising a power driven reciprocating rod provided with a yoke, a latch rod connected with an operating element of a pump and provided with a catch, a drum provided with a cam adapted to engage periodically the latch rod and move the catch into operative relation with the yoke for causing the latch rod to be reciprocated by the power driven rod and the pump to be actuated periodically, the cam providing a weight for the drum tending to rotate the drum and move thek cam to an inoperativeposition, means for causing rocking ot the drum for moving the cam in to operative relation vwith the latch rod,'means for retaining theY drum and likewise the cam in an operative positiontemporarily, and means for releasing theV retaining means periodically to permit'the drum and cam to move to an inoperative position.

2., A device for periodicallycontrolling the pumping action of a A pump comprising a power drivenV reciprocating rod provided with a yoke, a latclrrod' connected with an voperating element of va pump and provided withacatch, a` drum provided with 4a cam adapted to engage periodically the latch rod andmeve the catch into operative relation with the yoke lfor causing the pump to be actuated. periodically, means for imparting a rotary step by step movement of the drum and cam so that the cam will move the latch rod to an operative position relative tothe yoke, .means for retaining the zcam in an operative position, means for releasing the cam, and means causing reverse rotation of the drum and for moving the cam to an inopera-V tive position.

3. A device for periodically controlling the pumping action of a pump comprising a power-driven reciprocating rod provided with a yoke, a latch rod connected with an operating element of a pump and provided with a catch, a rotatably mounted cam adapted to move the latch rod to cause the catch to engage the yoke and temporarily operate the pump, means for causing a rotary step by step movement of the cam while the cam is out of operative relation with the latch rod and including means for moving the cam into operative relation with the latch rod, means for retaining the cam in an operative position, a plate carried by the latch rod adapted to engage and move the retaining means out of operative relation with the cam for releasing the cam, the cam forming a weighted element so that said cam will return automatically to a normal inoperative position.

4. A device for periodically controlling the pumping action of a pump comprising a power-driven rod provided with a yoke, said rod being continuously reciprocated, a latch rod connected with an operating element of a pump and provided with a catch, a cam adapt-ed to move the latch rod to cause the catch to engage the yoke and temporarily operate the pump, means for causing a rotary step by step movement of the cam while the cam is out of operative relation with the latch rod and including means for moving the cam into operative relation with the latch rod, means for releasing the cam, and means for causing said cam to move to an inoperative position to release the catch from the yoke.

5. A device for periodically controlling the pumping action of a pump comprising a power-driven rod provided with a yoke, said rod being continuously reciprocated, a latch rod connected with an operating element of a pump and provided with a catch, a cam adapted to move the latch rod to cause the catch to engage the yoke and temporarily operate the pump, ratchet Wheels connected to the cam, a pawl pivoted on a xed support engaging one of the Wheels for retaining the same in a predetermined position, a pivotally mounted lever, means connecting said lever with the reciprocating rod for causing oscillation of said lever, a pawl pivoted on the lever and engaging the other ratchet Wheel for causing a rotary step by step movement of the cam, means on the last-mentioned ratchet Wheel adapted to be engaged by its respective paivl for moving the cam into engaging position with the latch bar, said cam including a Weight for returning said cam to an inoperative position when the pavvls are released, and means for releasing the pawls.

JAMES S. QUIGG. 

